Self-Portrait in the Study

This is a poetic essay by one of the main figures of contemporary intellectual thought, Giorgio Agamben (b. 1942). By demonstrating to his reader the studies in which he has worked, the Italian philosopher attempts to construct his self-portrait through the things that were there. For Agamben, reflecting on himself becomes possible only by speaking about others: poets, philosophers, artists, friends, who have shaped his memories and inspired him to write. Therefore, the philosopher's self-portrait proves to be inextricably linked to Martin Heidegger and his seminars in Le Thor, the works of Hannah Arendt, the Italian intelligentsia, and philosophical reflections on the nature of memory, love, and writing.